Kim and Jim,
As for umbrella's, there are none to be purchased at the moment and there aren't many beaches that have them either. Only beach I can think of is Morning Star at Frenchman's Reef and at that I am not sure if they still have them! Magen's has a nice tree line, so plenty of shade to be found, but others such as Coki, shade is difficult. Not sure if there are umbrella's there either! Alot of help I am! 🙂 You might want to bring your own umbrella for sure!
I am wondering what Island you are staying on, tho I see you are staying at a villa. There are threads with good tips. I will go back and see which one it was, but I remember Bluwater giving some good tips!
Some people bring down frozen meat to save some money, depends on whether you want to carry a small extra cooler. Villas provide blow dryers, iron and ironing board, First Aid kit, beach towels, usually bug spray and often guests will leave sun tan lotion behind as well!

Thanks Sherri. We are staying on St. John. Starting off at Caneel for a few days then on to a villa for a week. Can't wait!

Check with your villa, they may provide snorkel gear for their guests and therefore you wouldn't have to rent!

I’d recommend buying your own snorkel gear and taking it with you. We’ve been to St. John four years in a row, and the first year we rented gear….but after that we bought it and take it with us every year. You can get a decent set at a sporting goods store for around $40. That way you can find a mask that fits you really well, you don’t have to use a nasty, chewed-up mouth piece, and you won’t have to worry about renting and returning it. Plus, I think it costs about the same to rent it as to buy it (that is if you buy it before you go...it'll be a little more expensive if you wait to buy it down there).

I found that on STJ I was able to find plenty of shade on most beaches (and that is especially true on parts of Caneel Bay) to get out of the sun when I wanted to. I am also used to my beach umbrella and chair placed near the water when I'm in Florida, but honestly on STJ I found it eaiser to just position myself and my towels near the trees than to drag the chairs, etc in the taxis to the beaches... Oh, and while at Caneel, ask someone there where the "sea grass beds" are exactly, they were right in front of part of the resort and we saw many large sea turtles and usually several (as many as 5) sting rays all together in those sea grass beds!!! The snorkeling around the rocks between their beaches was also pretty wonderful. Oh, and I found inexpensive snorkel equipment at a Bass Pro Shop at home and took it and it was a great choice for us, rather than renting.

Kim & Jim, what villa are you staying in? We get plenty of shade at most of the beaches. Salt Pond Bay and Cinnamon Bay are exceptions. Hawksnest, Gibney, Jumbie, Trunk, Maho, Francis and Lameshur offer plenty o shade.

Cheers, RickG

Confusious Say: Choose wisely and always check for nuts.

Not meant to alarm and its not common for people to be killed, but falling coconuts can cause injury to head, back and shoulders - or whatever else they hit. If you're choosing a coconut palm tree as a shade shelter, check first to see if there are mature coconuts, empty seed pods, or brown palm fronds.

Thanks all for the great suggestions/tips...and warnings! Ouch!
Sounds like we'll skip the umbrella and I'll be looking for snorkel gear this weekend. If we end up renting for the week, can anyone recommend a good place to rent from?

k&j